Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I've been a fan of tabletop role-playing games since I was
nine or ten. I started with D&D but branching off into Robotech (with the
RIFTS system), Shadowrun, Paranoia, Call of Cthulhu. My new group is playing
with two systems that are new to me, Battlestar Galactica (using the Cortex
system) and Hollow Earth.

Cortex is a great system, and available for free download. I
immediately fell in love with it, and think it works very well for lowish-tech
science fiction universes. It was designed for Firefly and adapted for BSG and
other universes. A buddy of mine asked me what system would be good to run a
Starship Troopers and Cortex immediately popped into my head. This turned to a conversation of how well the
system would work for such diverse universes as Alien, ExoSquad, and
Gargoyles.Of course, Gargoyles and ExoSquad both include pretty neat races that
should be open to PCs, the Gargoyles and the NeoSapiens. We came up with some
bundles, so I thought I'd share them.

Gargoyle Bundle: null cost

Assets:

Enhanced Movement (Gliding): D8 (With enough height and
knowledge of local air currents, Gargoyles can glide for miles.)

Stone Sleep: D10 (At sunrise, Gargoyles turn to stone
regardless of where they are and what they are doing.)

Memorable: D8 (Gargoyles stand out in a crowd.)

Duty: D4 (Almost all Gargoyles have at least a moderate
compulsion to protect their home.)

I thought about doing one for the Children of Oberon race,
but they seem to be too varied to stat out in a meaningful way. If a PC really
wants to play one, the GM will have to just get creative. I would suggest giving them Immune - non-iron
weapons (D12 + D2) as a pretty standard attribute. Mutates might be a fun bundle to make up,
though.

Neo Sapien Bundle: D12 cost

Assets:

Enhanced Manipulation: D2 (Neo Sapiens have two thumbs (and two fingers) on each hand, as well as prehensile toes. Add to tests where fine dexterity is paramount.)Natural Athlete: D4 (Neo Sapiens are at the apex of human capabilities.)

Tough: D4 (Neo Sapiens are tougher than their stats might indicate.)

Head for Numbers: D4 (Neo Sapiens are brilliant, especially in technical matters.)

Enhanced Senses: D4 (Neo Sapiens see very well in low-light
conditions, and have exceptional hearing.)Lightning Reflexes: D2 (Neo Sapiens have unnaturally fast
reflexes.)

Hardy Constitution: D4 (Neo Sapiens can shrug off the ill
effects of drugs or disease with ease.)Formidable Presence: D2 (Neo Sapiens are 8 feet tall and
built like linebackers. They tend to intimidate.)

Longevity: D2 (Neo Sapiens can live, and be vital, approximately twice as long as Homo Sapiens.)Complications:

Vulnerability - Trauma: D6 (Neo Sapiens who suffer sever
physical trauma, such as the loss of more than half of their life points, are
at risk for contracting Auto Mutation Syndrome, a degenerative and inevitably
fatal disease. They must make a hard endurance check or contract the illness.

Sterile: D4 (Neo Spaiens cannot reproduce normally,
divorcing them from the cycle of life and denying them any form of familial
relationship.)

Analysis Paralysis: D4 (Most Neo Sapiens are unable to think
on their feet. The unexpected can confuse them. When encountering unfamiliar or
unexpected situations, step down all attributes by one for D4 rounds.)

Conventional Thinking: D4 (When attempting be truly original
or creative in tactics or technical matters, Neo Sapiens are often at a
loss. Subtract D4 from rolls under such
circumstances.)

Memorable: D4 (In addition to being eight feet tall and
blue, all Neo Sapiens have a unique geometric tattoo prominently on their
forehead.)

Note: Many Neo Sapien villains have Prejudice (Humans) to help offset the cost of this bundle, though of course any Neo Sapien
in the Exo Fleet would be unlikely to have such a complication.

This is obviously an
extremely potent bundle, reflecting how they were portrayed in the series. For
most campaigns, I would advise no more than one Neo Sapien per party. GnomeStew has an excellent article on the reasoning behind such a limitation

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

So, have you ever wondered what life on Kirk's Enterprise must have looked like to the poor grunts on the bottom of the totem pole? Those sad bastards who beam down and then get eaten by a dikironium cloud monster or struck by lightning or shot by a pod plant. Well, a good buddy of mine, Ben Warren, is one of the writer/producers of Red Shirts, a parody focusing on them. He's a talented and funny guy, and the videos they've released so far look hilarious.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Hola, amigos! It's time for another Ark Addendum. Originally I intended to title this one Atlantis, Arise! Part II, but I realized that everything was a monument in Washington D.C. and changed the title accordingly. I suppose I could have called last week's entry Sub-Atlantica, but it's harder to separate the Sub-Atlanticans from Atlantis, Arise! than it is to separate out our nation's capitol. (Well, my nation's capitol. You might be in another country. SHOUT OUT, UK READERS!)

Funny story. Since I was starting with last week's entry as my starting point, I very nearly launched this page with Washington, D.C. next to a Decepticon symbol. (I'm sure my buddy Scott Rhymer would have appreciated that.) On my proofreading pass I realized my error and dropped in the Earth symbol. More appropriate, but less funny.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Today feels like a good day for me. I finished the last of my G.I. Joe Field Manual--Appendix articles for the G.I. Joe fanclub magazine. They're kind of like the Ark Addendum articles I post here, only official and for G.I. Joe. It should see print some time around April or May. I also watched the fourth episode of season 2 of The Shield and chortled to myself when Wagenbach said that today is a good day for Gamblers Anonymous, what with it being two days after the Superbowl. Funny timing, that.

So, to get to the meat of the post, here's part one of Atlantis, Arise!. It's one of the sillier episodes, with the Sub-Atlantican race teaming up with the Decepticons. I feel like it'd be really hard for a modern TF series to indulge in this level of silliness.